Man Accused Of Dragging Officer With Car Gets 20 Years

New Britain police officer watched the man who hurt him get a 20-year sentence Thursday

NEW BRITAIN — For the first time since the gruesome attack that instantly changed each man's life, Brett Morgan and Jaheem Snype were in the same place again Thursday afternoon — a mere couple of yards apart at a tense criminal sentencing at Superior Court.

Standing shackled and in an orange jumpsuit at the defense table, Snype, 20, never turned to look at his victim or the 60 glaring uniformed police officers seated behind him.

Described by a prosecutor as a remorseless felon who had done absolutely nothing good with his life, Snype offered neither apologies nor explanations. He alternately sneered and looked bored as a judge sentenced him to state prison for 20 years.

"You have demonstrated by your facial expressions and demeanor that you have absolutely no remorse," Judge Arthur C. Hadden said. "Every moment you are on the street, you present a danger to us all. I have little reason to suspect you will ever change."

Seated just one row back from the defendant, Morgan, 29, said nothing. But Morgan stared intently at the man who had dragged him with a car and nearly killed him a year ago, permanently scarring his face and destroying the police career that he was beginning to build.

Morgan sat alongside Police Chief James Wardwell, and was accompanied by his wife, his parents, his brother and mother-in-law. After court, Wardwell announced the grim news that many officers had feared since the attack 14 months ago: Morgan's injuries are so severe that he has had to take a medical retirement.

"This is a young man who wanted to have a career with us, and now he can't," Wardwell said. "But he is always going to be part of the New Britain police family."

Assistant State's Attorney Brian Preleski laid out a damning case against Snype, and urged Hadden to mete out the full 20-year sentence that was agreed to in a plea deal.

Jaheem Snype

Vermont State Police

Vermont State Police

"What struck me most about this case is the difference between Jaheem Snype and Brett Morgan at the time their lives intersected for a three- or four-minute period" on the night of Jan. 19, 2014, Preleski said. "Officer Morgan, like any other police officer, was coming to work every day — his goal was to help keep this community safe. He put his life on the line to keep the rest of us safe."

Preleski contrasted that with Snype, of New Britain, who had already been through the youthful offender program, violated probation and served jail time before his attack on Morgan.

"He really hasn't done a thing productive with his life," Preleski said, a comment that drew a thin smile from Snype. "He does not have an ounce of regret for what he did to Brett's life.

"We are never going to forget Brett Morgan. Jaheem Snype is going to spend the next two decades of his life in a cage. He will be forgotten by the thugs he thought were friends."

Preleski briefly referred to a letter that Snype wrote from jail to a friend. Preleski and the judge said it condemned people who had cooperated with police who had been searching for Snype, and showed no contrition for the damage he had inflicted on Morgan and his family.

Defense attorney Matthew J. Gaidos said that Snype was remorseful and realizes that he hurt his own family along with Morgan and Morgan's relatives.

Hadden, who had watched Snype rolling his head several times during the hearing, asked if the defendant wanted to say anything before sentencing. "No," Snype replied.

"I'm not surprised you have nothing to say. Apparently you said it all in your letter," Hadden said. "You sneered during the prosecutor's comments … you obviously made choices in your life to be a danger to everyone in our society."

On the night of the attack, Snype, then 19, was driving in the city with two people in a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. Police have said that Snype got to use the car by giving crack cocaine to its owner; when the owner found that he had been duped with phony crack, he called police and reported the car stolen.

Morgan spotted the Hyundai in a Wilcox Street parking lot. As he approached, Snype gunned the engine, struck Morgan and then dragged the helpless officer along the pavement for 100 feet.

Kiarra Johnson-Cruz, who was in the car, told investigators that Snype drove straight at Morgan.

"She stated the officer hit the hood of the vehicle and was screaming for Jaheem to stop. Johnson-Cruz stated that she last saw the officer on the hood of the vehicle crying and screaming for Jaheem to stop but Jaheem would not stop," police said in an arrest warrant affidavit. "She stated she felt the officer go under the vehicle and Jaheem kept driving."

When more officers arrived, they found Morgan bleeding and critically injured in the roadway with his equipment scattered around him.

Snype set fire to the Hyundai and then fled to Vermont, but a manhunt led to his arrest within three days. More than 100 off-duty police officers filled the courtroom at his arraignment, saying that they wanted to show support for Morgan.

About 60 officers marched Thursday morning from their headquarters downtown to the courthouse to watch Snype get sentenced. The group included a handful of officers from the Hartford and Wethersfield departments, along with officers from Vermont who had helped arrest Snype.

Snype pleaded guilty this winter to first-degree assault, a Class B felony with a maximum penalty of 20 years, and arson for burning the car. Morgan agreed to the plea deal, which included a 20-year maximum sentence for Snype.

Hadden sentenced him to 17 years for the assault and a consecutive three-year term for the arson. Afterward, Snype will have to serve five years of supervised probation.

Morgan, who had served briefly with the Northampton, Mass., police before joining the New Britain force, has been recuperating from severe facial and head injuries along with broken bones and other wounds. Despite numerous operations and months of rehabilitation, he hasn't recovered to the point that he could do police work, Wardwell said outside of court.

When asked whether police were disappointed that Snype did not apologize in court, Wardwell replied: "Were we expecting it? No. If it happened, it would have been appreciated."

Morgan and his family left the courthouse through a back exit. His brother thanked Connecticut and Vermont police 14 months ago when they apprehended Snype, but neither Morgan nor his relatives have wanted to say anything else publicly.

"We are so thankful he survived and is continuing his recovery," Wardwell said. "Today was difficult for him. It was the first time he saw Mr. Snype since that night. He handled it admirably."